8th Graders Using Blogs in Urban Education to Build Writing and Social Studies Skills

I heard from a middle school educator recently that he decided to use blogs as a writing tool for his 8th graders.  He wasn't sure how it would work because it was his first time blogging but he was willing to try it.  He posts the topic for his students on various culturally relevant current events and requires his students to research the event and then post a comment.  He does it weekly and uses it to improve skills in technology, research, writing and social studies.  He said he had complaints initially because none of the students wanted to write or read the news. They now look forward to it because there is a word limit and they like the relevancy of the topics. The students are now coming to him with suggested topics.  Imagine that! 

Good for him and lets hope others start doing the same.